Catalytic reactor with integral evaporator

Abstract

A reactor for evaporating liquid feed and reacting said feed in the presence of catalyst to make product comprises a housing having at least one inlet and at least one outlet and encasing an evaporation zone and a reaction zone, an injector passing through the inlet and having an orifice in the evaporation zone for introducing a liquid feed, an insert containing packing for vaporizing the liquid feed where the packing is in the evaporation zone, a receptacle for retaining catalyst in the reaction zone and at least one heater associated with at least a portion of the reactor, wherein the injector orifice and the packing define a gap between the orifice and the packing sufficiently small to interfere with the formation of a drop at the orifice.

1. A reactor for evaporating liquid feed and reacting said feed in the presence of catalyst to make product, comprising:
 a housing having at least one inlet and at least one outlet, said housing encasing an evaporation zone and a reaction zone;  
 an injector passing through the inlet of the housing and having an orifice for introducing liquid feed, said orifice being in the evaporation zone;  
 an insert containing packing for vaporizing the liquid feed to form a vapor, the packing being in the evaporation zone;  
 wherein the injector orifice and the packing define a gap between the orifice and the packing, the gap being sufficiently small to interfere with the formation of a drop at the orifice;  
 a receptacle for retaining catalyst, the catalyst being in the reaction zone;  
 a diluent gas mixing zone near the outlet of the housing for diluting the product and unreacted feeds; and  
 at least one heater associated with at least a portion of the reactor.  
 
     
     
       2. A reactor according to  claim 1 , wherein the receptacle is removable. 
     
     
       3. A reactor according to  claim 1 , wherein the insert is removable. 
     
     
       4. A reactor according to  claim 1 , further comprising a fluid permeable member attached to the receptacle to retain the catalyst but allow fluid to pass. 
     
     
       5. A reactor according to  claim 1 , further comprising a fluid permeable member attached to the insert to retain the packing but allow fluid to pass. 
     
     
       6. A reactor according to  claim 1  , wherein the packing is inert. 
     
     
       7. A reactor according to  claim 1 , wherein the heater is associated primarily with the evaporation zone. 
     
     
       8. A reactor according to  claim 7 , further comprising a second heater associated primarily with the reaction zone. 
     
     
       9. A reactor according to  claim 1 , wherein the heater is set at a temperature sufficient to vaporize the liquid feed. 
     
     
       10. A reactor according to  claim 1 , wherein the heater is set so that the temperature of the liquid feed is below its bubble point at the orifice and is heated to above its bubble point to form the vapor within the evaporation zone. 
     
     
       11. A reactor according to  claim 10 , wherein the vapor is heated to a predetermined reaction temperature within the evaporation zone before entering the reaction zone. 
     
     
       12. A reactor according to  claim 1 , further comprising a thermocouple for measuring the temperature within the housing. 
     
     
       13. A reactor according to  claim 1 , further comprising a guide tube and a thermocouple retained by the guide tube for measuring the temperature within the housing. 
     
     
       14. A reactor according to  claim 1 , further comprising a header for providing fluid to the inlet of the housing and a seal between the header and the housing. 
     
     
       15. A reactor according to  claim 14 , wherein the header further comprises at least two inlets. 
     
     
       16. A reactor according to  claim 14 , further comprising a cooler for maintaining a temperature at the seal. 
     
     
       17. A reactor according to  claim 1 , further comprising a header having a diluent inlet for a diluent gas and a fluid path being in fluid communication with the diluent inlet and the diluent gas mixing zone so that the diluent gas bypasses the catalyst and mixes with product near the outlet of the housing. 
     
     
       18. An array of reactors for evaporating liquid feed and reacting said feed in the presence of catalyst to make product, comprising:
 a plurality of housings, each housing having at least one inlet for liquid feed and at least one outlet for product, each housing encasing an evaporation zone and a reaction zone;  
 at least one heater associated with at least a portion of the housings;  
 a plurality of inserts for containing packing for vaporizing the liquid feed to form a vapor, the packing being within the evaporation zones;  
 a plurality of receptacles retaining catalyst for contacting and reacting vapor to form product, the receptacles being placed within the housings so that the catalyst is located within the reaction zones, the inserts being placed within the receptacles;  
 a plurality of headers, each header being for providing fluid to the inlet of a corresponding housing and a plurality of seals, each seal being between a corresponding header and a corresponding housing: and  
 a plurality of diluent gas mixing zones near the outlets of the housings for diluting the products and unreacted feeds.  
 
     
     
       19. An array according to  claim 18 , wherein each receptacle is removable. 
     
     
       20. An array according to  claim 18 , wherein each insert is removable. 
     
     
       21. An array according to  claim 18 , further comprising a plurality of fluid permeable members attached to the plurality of receptacles to retain the catalyst but allow fluid to pass. 
     
     
       22. An array according to  claim 18 , further comprising a plurality of fluid permeable members attached to the plurality of inserts to retain the packing but allow fluid to pass. 
     
     
       23. An array according to  claim 18 , wherein the packing is inert. 
     
     
       24. An array according to  claim 18 , wherein each housing further comprises a second inlet for a gas feed. 
     
     
       25. An array according to  claim 18 , wherein the heater is associated with the evaporation zones. 
     
     
       26. An array according to  claim 18 , further comprising a second heater associated with the reaction zones for maintaining a temperature at each of the catalysts. 
     
     
       27. An array according to  claim 18 , wherein there is a distance between the first and second heaters, the distance being sufficient so that a temperature at the packing is independent of a temperature at the catalyst. 
     
     
       28. An array according to  claim 18 , further comprising a plurality of second heaters, each second heater maintaining a temperature of at least one corresponding catalyst. 
     
     
       29. An array according to  claim 18 , further comprising a plurality of thermocouples, each thermocouple measuring the temperature within a corresponding housing. 
     
     
       30. An array according to  claim 18 , further comprising a plurality of guide tubes, each guide tube retaining a thermocouple, each thermocouple measuring the temperature within a corresponding housing. 
     
     
       31. An array according to  claim 18 , wherein the heater is comprised of a plurality of heaters. 
     
     
       32. An array according to  claim 18 , wherein the headers further comprise a plurality of diluent inlets for diluent gas and a plurality of fluid paths being in fluid communication with the diluent inlets and the diluent gas mixing zones so that the diluent gas bypasses the catalysts and mixes with product near the outlets of the housings. 
     
     
       33. An array according to  claim 18 , further comprising a cooler for maintaining a temperature at the plurality of seals.